


The Happiest Place On Earth

by wildglitterwolf



Category: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)
Genre: Can’t PDA because it’s the 60s, Disneyland, M/M, Rick always breaks down at the worst times, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:14:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22568425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildglitterwolf/pseuds/wildglitterwolf
Summary: Cliff surprises Rick with a trip to Disneyland. Rick thinks he’s in for a horrible day while Cliff tries his best to make it worth his while. [Fan Art included]
Relationships: Cliff Booth/Rick Dalton
Comments: 36
Kudos: 53





	1. “To All Who Come To This Happy Place: Welcome.”

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, yeah, Disney is the devil and all that shit. But if Tarantino can be self-indulgent about childhood nostalgia, then so can I. Granted my experience is 20 years later and the letter ticket system was gone, but I still remember when it was just one park, a lot of these old rides still existed, and you didn’t have to sell a kidney just to afford admission. Good times.
> 
> Also, this started as a fanart idea before fic so this has been sitting around in my mind for several months since I struggled with getting back into drawing digitally. But I finally had a bit of a breakthrough even though people aren’t my forte so at least I tried! Should hopefully be some art on every chapter but since everyone is on different sized devices idk how well it will show up. I put it at width=“100%” so hopefully it helps! Probably don’t read on a desktop or it will be too big I’m guessing.

  
  


“Where the hell are we going that you felt the need to blindfold me for?”

“Oh, just some place out east I thought we could hit up and have fun at.”

“Palm Springs?”

“Nope.”

“Vegas?”

“Too far.”

“Eh… Big Bear? Lake Arrowhead?”

“Too much nature.”

“Goddamnit, Cliff. I hate it when you pull shit like this.”

Cliff just grins as he heads south down I-5 for a good while before turning off. Rick is trying to gage how much time has passed and how far Cliff is going away from the freeway until they are suddenly in stop-and-start traffic. “Are we in a fucking line now?”

“Yeah. Might as well take it off, the parking attendant is gonna spoil it soon enough.”

Rick takes off the blindfold and stares at the colorful signs up ahead and blinks hard and slow trying to process that this, of all places, is where Cliff decided they should spend their day.

”No. No, no, NO, I fucking refused to do this, Cliff!”

“Aww, come on, man. Do it for Uncle Walt. He’s a fellow Missouri boy, right?”

Rick glares at him long and hard but he also knows he can’t just drive back home himself and leave Cliff stranded here in this… whatever this child infested hellhole was. “I-I’m n-never letting you pick activities again.”

“You say that now, but I’m sure I can get you to smile at least once today.” Cliff rolls down the window and gets the overly friendly ‘Welcome to Disneyland!’ greeting as he pays his $.50 and rolls into the lot. “Looks like we are parked in the Bambi lot so remember that when we leave tonight.”

“I probably won’t with how much booze I’m gonna need to survive this.”

“Oh yeah, by the way. They don’t serve alcohol in the park.”

Rick didn’t think he ever hated Cliff as much as he did in this very moment.

\---

“So what the fuck is this ticket shit exactly?”

“It’s coupons to ride the rides. Want to do the ten or fifteen book? The ten on has three “E” tickets but the fifteen had five.”

Rick just stares, none of this processing for him. “The fuck is a-an “E” ticket?”

“Basically means the better rides. Come on, do the fifteen. For me. Then I’ll never drag you back here again.”

Cliff wasn’t one to give a puppy dog face to plead with Rick, and Rick clearly got the vibe from him without it. Damn this prick. “Alright, alright. Do the fifteen, shit. Already dragged my ass down here I might as well play along. You grab them while I go take a piss.”

“Aww, you’re the best, man,” Cliff says with a grin as Rick wanders off and then proceeds to buy four books. Rick never said how many books he could buy, after all.

\---

Once Rick got past the floral Mickey Mouse face at the entrance and passed under the railroad bridge, the long street he walked out on might as well have been like a movie set right out of another time. Although, turn of the century streets did not have a pink castle at the end of them. He saw the families hurry down the street towards Fantasyland while others took to visiting the shops first. Outside the Fire Department building near where they were standing was a barbershop quartet singing "Somebody Stole My Gal" to a small crowd forming around them.

“Main Street, U.S.A.. Said to be based off Marceline, Missouri. Walt’s hometown. Ever been there?”

“Hmm?” Rick was paying too much attention to the quartet that it took a moment to process what Cliff said. “Oh, no. No, I-I didn’t ever really leave town until I came out here. Don’t even know where it would be.”

Cliff looks the map over and at the ticket books. “Well. We got a total of two “A” rides we can do and looks like most of them are here. Interested in taking the Omnibus, Horseless Carriage, or Horse-Drawn Street Cars? Or we could just walk.”

“Nah, let’s use up these tickets so we can get out of here sooner.” Rick looked around at the transportation options. The motor ones would be faster, but there was something about the beautiful Clydesdale pulling the streetcar along the tracks that spoke to him. “Let’s do the horse one. And we’ll sit in the back so hopefully n-no one will recognize me.”

“Ah, should of brought a disguise for you. Maybe we can get you a Mickey ears hat.”

“You’ve d-done enough to me already. I-I ain’t about to wear some fucking cartoon ears.”

“Language, Rick. There’s kiddos around with delicate ears.”

No drinking. No swearing. Thank god there were still at least designated smoking areas on the map or he wasn’t going to survive the day. “Y-you a-hole. I’m g-gonna buy you some ears and make you wear them.”

“Why, was thinking of getting them for myself anyways.”

“The ones with the b-bow for girls.”

Cliff just grins. “Whatever you say, man. I think our ride is here.”

As Rick requested, they both boarded in the back of the streetcar and luckily no one took the bench in front of him. But that still didn’t stop Rick from slapping Cliff’s arm away when he tried to put it around his shoulder after the horse started moving.

“Idiot,” Rick hisses. “We’re in public.”

“Ah, you’re right. Guess I got my own addiction to control today.”

That didn’t make Rick feel any better since that meant he wasn’t getting any as well. _‘Happiest Place on Earth’ my ass._

But soon the sweet olfactory assault began as the street car went down past the Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor and Candy Palace, and Rick was starting to wonder if it would be too early for dessert as he could almost imagine tasting some fudge right now. “I’m getting hungry.”

“There’s a saloon over in Frontierland. Could eat and watch the show while we plan our day.”

“There’s a western theme land? Pfft.” Actually, Fronteirland was the first thing to catch Rick’s eye when he looked at the map, and despite working countless hours on sets made to look like the Old West, a little part of Rick was excited to see what an old timey place could look like without all the crew equipment. But of course, like hell he’d admit that to Cliff.


	2. Frontierland

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Out of all the lands, this is the one that changed the most before I was born and didn’t experience a lot of this. The other lands I think I at least rode or saw in action all the rides that are now gone, save for one or two attractions that aren’t really rides, I think.

Frontierland’s entrance was to the left of the castle where the streetcar dropped them off. Hoping he could avoid the brightly colored center attraction a little longer, Rick started briskly walking towards the fort-like facade before Cliff could make a comment that they should take a picture in front of the castle together despite neither of them having a camera with them. Once through the gates, the first thing to catch Rick’s eye was the white steamboat making its way down a river that appeared to wrap around an island. And just as with the strange juxtaposition of the fantasy of a castle at the of an early century street, an ominous looking mansion that looked like it belonged on a New Orleans plantation stood without any activity on the other side of the bank, although this looked far less jarring than the castle.

“These lands are a lot smaller than I thought if we can see New Orleans Square easily from here.” Cliff looks at the map trying to figure out where the Golden Horseshoe was as Rick looked around at the other attractions. They were standing out front of the Davy Crokett Frontier Arcade and that sense of nostalgia hit Rick. He never saw the episodes air but he did see the theatrical release only a couple years before he got _Bounty Law_ , and he enjoyed it immensely. Hell, that damn catchy song was already playing in his head.

“Hey um, I-I’m gonna go in here and check this place out, alright?” Rick claps Cliff on the shoulder as he heads off into the arcade, a pretty wide grin on his face. He wasn’t interested in playing the games himself but headed straight to the gift shop portion of the store and found his prize: a Davy Crockett coonskin hat.

“Well you look happy.”

Rick nearly jumped a mile as he didn’t hear Cliff sneak up on him. “Oh, shut up. I-I can make the most of this fu- uh, dumb trip. B-by the way…” he trails off as he goes to grab a pair of mouse ears with a little blue bow and sticks it on Cliff’s head, “... that’s for you.”

Luckily for Cliff, he was so confident in his masculinity he didn’t give a crap about wearing it. Also, anyone with a lick of sense would take one look at him and not want to mess with him. Except children; they will point out anything out of the ordinary regardless. “Well, don’t I look cute. Go ahead and buy them then.”

Rick hated that he could never fluster Cliff the way he did to him, but he bought both hats anyways. Then after putting them on and making sure they looked right, they headed a few doors over to the Golden Horseshoe. Inside the saloon was a stage upfront for the where the Slue Foot Sue’s Golden Horseshoe Revue would be performing and they luckily made it fifteen minutes to show time. The hall was filled with round tables, mostly occupied by families with kids, and along the right side was the food and beverage options.

“What would you like? I’ll order them you can grab a table to go hide yourself at.”

Rick squinted up at the menu trying to quickly decide from the limited sandwich options. “I’ll take a Tenor’s Topper with Cheetos. And a Diet Pepsi.”

“You got it.”

Rick slips back out of the line and much to his luck he finds an empty table alongside the wall near the back. He sat there and looked around, both worried and hopeful someone would recognize him, but it seemed everyone was too preoccupied with their own day to pay him any mind. Hell, he didn’t even get recognized buying the hats.

“Here we go. Got us a brownie to split for dessert since I didn’t know if you wanted one.” Cliff put Rick’s order of his corned beef sandwich meal down in front of him while he sat and dig into his roast beef with barbaque sauce. “Ah, gonna need napkins. The sauce and cheese dust is gonna be a mess.”

Rick was about to ask ‘what cheese dust?’ but he remembered once he looked down at his fingers already lightly coated in that bright orange. Almost instinctively, he starts licking his fingers.

“Or maybe you don’t need them,” Cliff says with a smile as he catches him in the act. Rick quickly takes a napkin and properly cleans them, muttering to himself right as the show gets started.

Slue Foot Sue came out on stage with her dance hall girls and started it off with a song to welcome the audience. The variety show continued with more musical numbers, skits, and an appearance of fictional cowboy, Pecos Bill, to sing about himself.

The guys didn’t say a word to each other as they munched on their lunch and Cliff noisily slurped his Mountain Dew during the show. But when they asked the kids to come on stage to help sing “The Ballad of Davy Crockett,” Cliff couldn’t help but lean over to tell Rick he should go join them. Rick gave him an annoyed look but hummed along when they got to the chorus nonetheless.

They worked on splitting their brownie once the show ended so Cliff could map out a battle plan. Rick reluctantly agreed to Fantasyland next just to get it over with sooner than later. Then they could take the Skyway into Tomorrowland, get on the train to do a loop and get off in New Orleans Square, go through Adventureland and back onto Main Street in time for fireworks. Easy for Cliff, looks completely exhausting to Rick.

Cliff decided to start off leisurely with a ride on the Mark Twain, that steamboat Rick first spied when they got to Frontierland, around the Rivers of America. Rick assumed it was meant to be the Mississippi, and part of him felt weird for spending most of his life in a state that bordered it but never actually visited it. Instead, he now found himself in this artificial recreation, complete with animatronic Native Americans and wildlife along the banks of the back end. They even managed to time it so the train that circled the park went by them, and Rick watched as Cliff waved back to the families on board waving their way. But overall, the ride itself felt relaxing and probably the closest he’ll even get to that century old feeling of Mark Twain’s Mississippi.

After they disembarked, they backtracked the way they just came from down river and got on board the Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland in the fictional town of Rainbow Ridge. The train pulled away as an audio of a cartoonish sounding miner started narrating it’s way through the various woods and desert landscapes full of animatronic animals, rock formations, cacti, and geysers. It was a slow journey, and despite the animals obviously not being real, Rick couldn’t help but feel captivated by the charm of it all. He even forgot Cliff was there for a moment until Cliff decided to howl back at the coyote, getting a giggle out of a few of the kids in the car with them. Then they went through a cavern full of various water sights, including colorfully lit waterfalls and fountains, before pulling back into the station.

Cliff suggested doing the Pack Mules next which took them around through the same areas, just along a different trail. Rick wasn’t use to not being in control of whatever it was he was riding, as the mules were all in single file being lead by the guy in front. Plus he didn’t like being the caboose in this mule train that he kept instinctively wanting to give his a kick to go faster.

“Psst, Cliff.”

“Yeah?”

“I can’t hear.”

“Neither can I with you hissing at me.”

“A-and I don’t like n-not having reigns.”

“Just relax and enjoy the ride, man. You’re not gonna get bucked off here.”

Rick grumbles but he takes Cliff’s advice as best he can. Still, he thinks they should have spent this “E” ticket and just done the mine train again.

After they got off, they head back down past the Rivers of America dock again where the Columbia, an 18th-century style sailing ship, was just pulling in. They decided to give another trip around the river a go, this time taking the sights in off the starboard side. Mostly it was just watching families explore Tom Sawyer’s Island which looked interesting in and of itself.

“How do we g-get over there?”

“Why, you interested?”

“N-no. J-just wondering.”

“I recollect seeing some dock on the southside. Think we might as well just do it after taking the train to New Orleans Square if it’s over that way anyways. Same with the Indian War Canoes. I’m itching to get to Fantasyland.”

Rick groaned as he clearly wasn’t. “Fine. But c-can we do a round at the shooting gallery first as it’s on the way?”

“Don’t see why not.”

And it was at the shooting gallery Rick finally got some attention and drew a small crowd around him. (“Jake Cahill is here! Jake Cahill is showing off his shooting skills!”) Of course, a lot of the kids were too young to have seen _Bounty Law_ but they could tell by their parents’ excitement that this guy was someone cool and Rick gladly signed several autographs for anyone who asked.

But while Rick only got maybe two-thirds of his shooting targets and Cliff nailed every one with ease, it was only Rick anyone paid attention to. And Cliff, like always, was perfectly fine with that.


	3. Fantasyland

Rick was riding his high of ego stroking when they walked back out onto Main Street. It felt like nothing could bring him down. Nothing!

Then he sees they’re standing in front of that damn castle and reality snaps back into place.

“We really g-gonna do this sh- uh, this thing?”

“Why, do you not believe in fairytales or something? ‘Once upon a time’, ‘Happily ever after’, and all that shit?”

“Language, Clifford,” Rick growled, knowing Cliff only said that because Rick had stopped himself from doing it, and it was only confirmed by Cliff’s stupid grin.

“Yes, Princess.” Cliff reached out and offered his hand, which as expected, Rick was reluctant to take. “Come on, just this one time. For me.”

“You know I-I can’t.”

“Right, I know. Just… just thought I’d try.”

Rick couldn’t help the pang in his heart at seeing Cliff try to brush off his attempt by smoothing his hair back, not even attempting to hide the disappointment on his face. But even something as holding hands in public seemed too risky. “Well, lead the way. Let’s get this over with.”

Cliff just nods, hands firmly jammed in his jeans’ pockets so he wouldn’t be tempted. But his face soon lit up again as the walked over the drawbridge and through the castle gate, not because of how much he loved it, but by how much he could tell Rick was going to _hate_ this.”

“... No. No, I-I am not, am NOT, going i-in a flying e-elephant!”

“Aw, man. Show Dumbo some respect.”

“This is a f-fu- I mean godda- ARGH! You know what I mean.”

“Means you’re annoyed. But I’m here to have fun and be a kid at heart. Don’t know how much of a carefree childhood you had, but just give yourself a day to be young again. To not worry about a single thing going wrong with your life, ya got plenty of time to pick up with where you left off tomorrow. Come on. Whaddaya say, partner?”

Rick would like to feel like he’s not being swallowed up by the pressures of life for once, of course he would. He just didn’t think doing it at a place that he felt was designed for children and families, not two grown-ass men getting up there in age, was the place for it. But seeing as he was essentially trapped here and wasn’t leaving any time soon, then what choice did he have? “Alright, alright. What do ya wanna do first, kid?”

Cliff grins as he looks down at their ticket book. “Well why don’t we just finish up these “A” tickets with King Arthur’s Carousel since it’s right there.”

Now a carousel, that was a ride Rick at least had some experience with. He’s even been up to the one in Griffith Park (which actually was the thing that inspired Walt to create Disneyland in the first place) before he met Cliff. Back when he actually tried dating in Los Angeles and thought it would be a great place to take a girl. And yes, there have been times when he often thought about asking Cliff if he wanted to take a ride on it the times they’ve gone hiking up there, but he’d thought it would be too embarrassing. Just like he felt now. If Cliff could have the balls to drag him here as just two guys by themselves, then surely he could ask Cliff to do the same back home.

“Yeah, sure.”

They get in line and Rick secretly scouts the horse he wants. He finds a rather simple looking one with a yellow design painted under its saddle with the silhouette of a lion in the corner. Rick manages to grab it, while Cliff takes the ones next to him that had pink and purple all over and looked like rows of bells all over its body.

“Hey, it’s the one next to yours. I ain’t complaining.”

Rick let out the first genuine laugh all day. “You know, uh. I-I was always th-thinking we could go to the one in Griffith some time. Use to g-go there on dates and I’ve always been itching to go again.”

“So you’re asking me on a date?”

“What? No! I-I-I just wanted t-to ride it again, th-that’s all.”

“Well darn, you got my hopes up.”

“I… dangit, Cliff we’ll talk later.”

Cliff chuckled at Rick’s soft censoring as the ride started to move.

There really isn’t much to this ride other than the constant up-and-down and round-and-round. It was simple. Just like Cliff. Alright, Cliff wasn’t simple. Hell, he was a goddamn enigma. But he led a simple life, and Rick wondered if maybe that was the appeal he found in him. Just a constant, dependable part of his Rick’s life through all his ups and downs, just like a carousel.

“Hey, you doing alright? You look kinda out of it.”

“Hmm? Oh, nah, just thinking.”

“Care to share?”

Rick shakes his head no, and Cliff knows to just leave it at that.

Soon the ride came to a stop and now it was time for Rick to face the part he had been dreading: the actual Disney themed rides. Surrounding the carousel he had three dark rides to suffer through. Luckily for Rick, thanks to Cliff planning out their day at lunch they’d only have enough “C” tickets to do two of these. Rick opted to skip Snow White, as he had only seen the movie once when it came out when he was seven so he didn’t have too much recollection about it. But that logic made little sense with the next one that was Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, something from a film Rick had not seen. But it had the word ‘wild’ in it and that alone made Rick pick it over the other. But as soon as it started, he just waited for the jab he knew was coming from Cliff.

“Hey Rick, he drives like you!”

There it is.

“The fuck you talking about… yeah, I said fuck, it’s dark and w-we’re alone, no one can hear us. Guy drives like you!”

“I drive fast but I’m always in control. This ain’t ‘in control’ driving.”

Well when that hell was over (and he also means literal Hell, as there was a journey through it on the ride), they hopped on Peter Pan’s Flight. This ended up being Rick’s favorite of these dark rides so far. He did enjoy the movie and he liked how they were in a ship flying instead of a car. And because it was dark, he let himself give Cliff something and just rested his head on his shoulder. Cliff responded by just slinging his arm around him, happy enough that they’d get to do this until they had to break apart right before returning to the loading dock. But hey, Cliff will take what he can get.

Cliff decided to spare Rick from Dumbo for the time being, so instead they headed right around the corner where the Mad Tea Party was, and Rick was starting to think maybe Dumbo would have been the safer option.

“That looks like a fu- headache.”

“Good thing you’re sober.”

Everyone ahead of them seemed to make a mad dash for the more interesting designed tea cups while Cliff grabbed a plain ol’ pink one. Rick rolled his eyes as Cliff opens the door for him and flops down on one end of the cup as Cliff takes the other.

“Wait, you gotta spin this thing yourself?” Rick asks as he cocks his head to read the wheel in the middle.

“Yeah, looks like it.”

“Well you’re on your own, I ain’t helping you contribute to my nausea.”

Like it mattered if Rick helped anyways. Cliff on his own was making the teacup spin faster than most families in the other cups were with the help of four sets of hands. Rick was shocked (and yet not, really) at how fast Cliff was getting them going that he took his coonskin cap off just in case it was sent flying.

“Cliiiiifffff!!! Toooo f-f-faaaast!!”

“What? Can’t hear you.” (He could.)

Luckily the ride soon came to a stop and the world stopped spinning for Rick. That was too much for him to deal with so the hopped on the Alice in Wonderland dark ride right behind it so Rick could recover. The psychedelic colors at one part did make his eyes hurt but other than that it was not as intense as the other dark rides.

“Why, that ride felt like some trip I had way back,” Cliff chuckles as he climbs out of the Caterpillar car right behind Rick.

“Like I’m surprised. I tripped once a-and it didn’t g-go well. I’ll stick to booze.”

“Well you wanna give the Matterhorn a shot while we’re down this way? It’s probably the most intense ride you’ll have to deal with all day.”

“I just calmed down. Y-you want my anxiety up again??”

“Do it now, you’re good for the rest of the day.”

Rick sighed but agreed. He’s never been on a roller coaster type ride, not even at the Santa Monica Pier. But Cliff was there, and if these kids waiting in line could do it, then so could he.

Until he saw the bobsled cars.

“I… I’m NOT sitting in your lap!”

“You want me in yours then?”

“No, I’m asking for s-s-separate cars.”

“Aw, man. It’s crowded, don’t make the line longer for those behind us.”

“We ain’t gonna fit.”

“No hurt trying.”

But Rick honestly didn’t think they were gonna fit. He was gonna have to be smashed up right against Cliff for the whole ride. Sure, of course Cliff won’t mind that. But he also won’t be freaking out during the ride like he knew he was going to.

“So you wanna be in back or front?

“F-front. You’ll suffocate me.”

“We’re the same height.”

“Your muscles will crush me.”

“Fair enough,” Cliff says with a laugh as he purposely asks for the last seat in the car. He gets in first and buckled up and waits for Rick to climb in and buckle his belt. Yup. It was a fucking tight squeeze.

“Well this is comfy.”

“How can you b-breathe? I barely can in front?”

“Rick, calm down. I got you.” Cliff wraps his arms completely around his waist like an extra seatbelt holding him tight and secure. Rick doesn’t even bother to freak out about the public affection, this was what he needed: Cliff’s assurance.

“Alright. I trust youuuu- YIP!” Rick cries, gripping his coonskin hat close to his chest as the car starts moving turning downwards into the mountain. The coaster raced around at definitely the highest speed Rick had gone today, letting out a scream at every sudden drop or when the abominable snowman came roaring into view. The ride was definitely not smooth, either, as Rick couldn’t keep his head still if he tried from how much he felt getting thrown around. Finally the ride neared the end of its course down the last hill through the water getting them both sprayed a bit.

Cliff could hear Rick crying softly as the cars got into the queue to unload. He gave Rick one last tight squeeze around the middle, restraining himself as best he could to not nuzzle his neck as he starts soothing him with words most people would use towards a child. “Hey man, you did good. Real good. I’m so proud of you.”

“N-n-n-n-n-never. A-a-again.”

Cliff gave Rick a moment to rest and take a smoke break while he went to get a couple sodas and pretzels to snack on while Rick calmed down.

“Hey man, eat up.”

Rick's hands were still shaky as he put out his cigarette before taking the drink and pretzel and started nibbling on it. Last thing he needed was to get recognized in this state so he pulled the coonskin hat over his eyes and ate blindly. Meanwhile, Cliff finished his snacks and took his own smoke break, looking over the map to see that they were on schedule.

“We can do the motor boats here, hit Small World which is also a boat ride, Storybook Land Canals...”

“Too many boats. Scratch S-Storybook. Already can tell that’s gonna be the worst one.”

“Ya sure? I’ve heard things about this Small World ride…”

“Please, how could a world cruise b-be worse than this f-fairytale stuff?”

Well Rick was gonna find out very soon, but the calm before the storm was up first as they got in line once they finished smoking for the motor boats. It felt like a basic motorboat but was obviously on a track, but that didn’t stop Cliff from pretending to drive. They watched the monorail glid overhead and saw the cars of Autotopia drive by, and Cliff couldn’t help but jab Rick in the side with his elbow and point to them, asking if he thinks he’d be able to drive one. Cliff got a rather hard smack in the ribs for that.

Finally they headed up to the back end of the park where the 1964 World’s Fair attraction of It’s a Small World sat. Even before they entered the building, Rick knew instantly he was going to loathe this. The sound of that fucking song grew louder and louder until it finally enveloped them and Rick fucking swears it was a good half hour before they emerged from the collection of singing international dolls. Rick didn’t even realize the boat finally saw daylight again as he was in such a trance of agonizing torture his expression had gone completely blank. He only finally snapped back into reality when the song started up again, this time from his partner.

“I. I will. I will fu-fu-ARGH KILL you i-if you even DARE sing that.”

“Aw, but it’s so catchy!”

Rick needed a second smoke break to recover from the ear worm so he went back to the smoking section to light up. Cliff asked if he’d like to check out Storybook Land Canals anyways to see if he still thought it was the worst of the three, but Rick just growled; he was so over this part of the park and didn’t want to be stuck on any more slow moving boats. He did, however, reluctantly agree to the Casey Junior Circus Train, a train made to look like the one from _Dumbo_ , since it covered the same landscape the canal ride did. 

“There’s a-a ‘Wild Animal’ cage for ya, Cliff.”

Cliff grins as he sees the train pull up and the car in question was made to look like a cage with bars. “Well that’s just perfect for us then.”

“I ain’t no animal.”

“You wanna sit alone?”

Rick sighs and climbs in behind him as they sit on one end and a family with a couple small children come in, causing him to eyeroll. _Great. Bet they start crying._

But the kids (and parents as well) seemed more perplexed by two adult men sitting in an animal cage train car. Cliff smiles at the kids and starts making animal noises at them. 

“”Watch out, he’s dangerous, kids,” Rick said without realizing he did. 

“Aww, I’m just a big ol’ puppy dog.” Cliff barks and the kids giggle, and then he is encouraging them to make sounds as well. Eventually their parents join in until only Rick is left out. But Rick didn’t care; if anything, he was fascinated with watching Cliff interact with the children as he doesn’t think he’s ever has seen him around them before. Of course, Rick actively went out of his way to avoid kids, hence why he wasn’t thrilled with being here in the first place. But still, there was something sweet and enduring about watching a guy most people either feared or despised being so gentle with the little ones. 

“If you don’t mind me asking, you look awfully familiar,” the father suddenly asked Rick. 

“Why, this is ol’ Jake Cahill himself, Rick Dalton,” Cliff answered on Rick’s behalf.

“Ah, that’s it! Yes, I remember. _Bounty Law_ , was it? It’s been awhile. What brings you two out this way?”

“My stuntman decided to drag me here against my will,” Rick grumbled. 

“Oh, you’re his stuntman. Wasn’t sure if he was… well, let’s just say you don’t normally see two men by themselves here unless they’re involved with each other.”

“I ain’t a homosexual if that’s what you’re implying. I gotta girl, just camera shy and don’t want no paparazzi tailing her.”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to offend. You just never know. Don’t want the kids exposed and all.”

“No, you definitely don’t. Don’t blame ya. You never know who is and if they will rub off on ya.”

The two of them went off deeper into their progressively homophobic conversation until the train pulled up to the platform to disembark. Rick was still happily chatting away since the conversation was now on his past career before the family parted ways. 

“So where to now, Cliff ol’ boy?”

“How about home?”

“Wha-?” Rick finally looks at Cliff for the first time since before Rick got on talking with the father. Cliff had an expression Rick had never seen before and one he couldn’t quite get a read on. Hurt? Anger? Disappointment? “C-Cliff?”

“Did y’all mean what you said back there or were you just acting to save face?”

“Y-you know m-my career would be o-over if they thought we were together.”

“So we aren’t then, that’s what I’m getting.”

“What?! I mean, n-no we aren’t. Not publicly. I-I still enjoy our private time.”

Cliff’s expression didn’t change yet Rick felt it did. Or maybe it was just an almost deadly energy Cliff was giving off. The kind that made Rick realize why Cliff wasn’t so loved everywhere. 

“Rick Dalton. I’m gonna do my darnest to not swear. I know how important your career is. I know yes, it was a risk taking you here. But if I ever so much as hear you say the downright hateful, and frankly, self-hating things I heard you just say again, whether you mean them or not, I’m done with you.” And from the look in Cliff’s eyes, Rick could tell he meant it.

“Y-y-yes. I-I-I got it.”

“Good.” Then all of a suddenly it was like a light switch flipped on and Cliff was back to smiling. “So Dumbo?”

Rick didn’t dare argue against him on that this time. 

They still didn’t talk much in line after that as Rick was admittedly still afraid. He didn’t mean the things he said, not really. It was more like being possessed by the church teachings of his childhood sprouting from within him. He couldn’t just instantly reprogram himself despite him feeling those desires he was warned against. 

Finally Rick decides the silence is too uncomfortable and asks what he’s been wondering about before this all went down. “So. D-did you ever want kids?” 

“Me? Yeah. Why’d you ask?”

“Was just surprised y-you was getting on so great with the ones on the t-t-train.”

“Why’s that surprising? I deal with you on a daily basis; kids are easier.”

Rick couldn’t argue back as he knows he has been quite difficult to deal with on occasion. “Still want them?”

“Nah. Too old. I’m content as is. Maybe I wish I wasn’t so poor but relationship wise, got all I need. You and Brandy are enough.”

This was comforting to hear as it seemed like Cliff wasn’t angry enough to drastically leave him hanging. But as soon as they stepped into that elephant-shaped vehicle, Rick forgot all that he was worried about and started complaining that he was actually going through with this. And as for Cliff, he was relieved that Rick was back to his cranky self like usual. 

“Want to operate Dumbo? It’s not that hard. Just push the lever up and down.”

“Yeah, yeah, shut up. I ain’t dumb.”

So despite all the resisting, Rick oddly found this ride to be the most relaxing in Fantasyland. Yeah, even more than the carousel. He could go up and down when he wanted, stay all the way up if he wished, whatever. He even started to have _fun_. Finally at one point when he has Dumbo all the way up and he thinks no one can see them from the ground or the elephants behind them are further down, he turns to Cliff and nudges him with his elbow. “Kiss me.”

“Huh? I think I just heard you say “kiss me” but have no clue why.”

“Look, I-I’m sorry. Sorry I’ve been a total asshole all d-day. And the shit I said back there. You were just t-trying to give me a g-good time.”

“Oh, but babe. I’d be disappointed if you weren’t being an asshole. You’d think I’d take you here because I knew you wanted to? No. I took you here because I knew you’d behave this way, and any challenge for me to make you like something entertains me to no end.”

“So you’ve been m-manipulating me??”

“No. I just know you too well, that’s all. Now what’s that you asked for, a kiss? Nah. I don’t want that reward yet. Not until I know I gave you a great day.”

Rick growled in frustration that Cliff managed to take something he was offering him because he thought Cliff wanted it and reversed it so Rick couldn’t get it once expressing interest. Cliff was such a difficult person to understand yet Cliff might know him better than he knows himself! “Fine. It’s a deal.”

The ride automatically started lowering everyone to the ground. They were officially done with Fantasyland and were now making their way next to the Skyway platform that would take them to Tomorrowland. They got in their blue backet and watched the crowd below as they soared above them, straight through the Matterhorn (Rick visibly flinched when he heard the screams echo throughout the structure) and out the otherside into a land that Rick felt he was going to like much, much more.


	4. Tomorrowland

“This land looks clean a-and slick.”

“They just redid it a couple years ago. Apparently when it first opened it was supposed to show the future as it will be in 1986.”

Rick snorts but realizes that year is less than twenty years away. He definitely didn’t think the world would look anything like this by then. Hell, he didn’t even know where he himself or his career will be.

“So I thought before we’d get started you could use a little break from this place while still doing a ride. Whaddaya say?”

“After what I just been through y-you bet I-I do.”

“Well you’re in luck because the Monorail you see over there is an “E” ticket and we can hop on there and take a breather over at the hotel. There’s probably a bar if you want to get a drink or-”

But at the mention of ‘bar’, Rick was already briskly walking his way over to the station without needing Cliff to finish.

The ride there was not too long and soon Rick could breathe freedom, despite the place being marked as the Disneyland Hotel. Once they found a bar and each ordered their signature drinks, Cliff excused himself to use the restroom. It took about a half hour before he returned.

“The hell you been? Already on my third.”

“Woah, slow down there. I ain’t hauling your drunk ass back over there.”

“More the reason to drink then.”

“Rick….”

Rick flinched a bit at that tone. That dangerous sounding tone that he shouldn’t fuck around. “Alright, alright. Th-this will be the last one, I swear.”

After Rick took his own piss break, he and Cliff made their way back towards the Monorail station. The track was longer this time as it curved around the Tomorrowland attractions, giving them a view of what they could do.

“Let’s do Autopia first. I wanna see you back behind a drivers’ wheel.”

“V-very funny. If kids can do it, then I ain’t got nothing to worry about.”

“You’re still driving your own car.”

“Wh-what? After you made me s-smash up against you on the M-Matterhorn, ya gonna just leave me alone in my own vehicle?”

“I want to drive, too. But I also want to see you drive so I’ll be in the car behind you.”

_I’ll show him. I’ll show him there’s nothing to this._

And when Rick got in his car and saw it was just one gas pedal you push down to go and lift up to stop, he thought he had this in the bag. But he soon found it to be more difficult than he thought, and damnit, why did he decide to get buzzed again right before the fucking car ride?! He’d push down too hard and go too fast that he’d freak out and lift it up right away to stop suddenly. He kept up this horrible start-and-stop driving for long enough that he was glad it was Cliff behind him and not someone else.

“You alright there partner?”

Rick growled; he could hear the mockery in Cliff’s tone as he turned around and saw he was practically bumper to bumper with him. “D-did you n-not hear the rule that you need to k-keep one car length between cars?”

“Well I was until you decided to stop suddenly. We’re on a track or else I’d gladly drive around you.”

Rick highly considered driving slow on purpose but cars were coming around the corner behind Cliff that he’d be backing up the whole ride if he did. He eased his foot on the gas as best he could and held it until he caught back up to the car in front of him. Soon he found his groove and was able to finish the ride without much issue.

“Thank you for amusing me.”

“Oh sh-shut up. It’s been awhile”

From air to land and now to sea, they hopped on over to the Submarine Voyage. It was a bit cramped getting into it but they each found their porthole. The ship ‘dived” down and started to tour a lagoon full of animatronic sea life, a ship graveyard, the North Pole, the bottom of the sea, and Atlantis. As they escaped the underwater volcano threatening to go off, they came across a sea serpent before returning to the surface.

“It needed more mermaids,” Cliff critiqued as they climbed out.

“What, the robot ones down there d-didn’t do it for ya?”

“You know, they used to have real women as mermaids in the lagoon? Just stopped last year so we missed it.”

“Well, good. Don’t need you flirting with them n-now do I? I’d never get you to leave.”

“No, no you would not. Can’t help it if they are also flirting back as well, and you know they would.” Cliff laughs as Rick looks a bit annoyed at the thought of him trying to pick up mermaids at an amusement park. “Alright, want more rides or some of these free exhibits or whatever they are?”

“Let’s try this Circle-Vision thing. M-might be interesting since it involves filming techniques.”

And for Rick, it was quite impressive! There were nine large screens in a circle that gave a panoramic view of the landscapes they showed in this “America the Beautiful” film. This certainly wasn’t something that would easily be done for a full feature, but it was wonderful to look at nonetheless. He could only imagine what this would look like filming a sunset over LA as the neon and car lights turn on. It would be fucking beautiful.

“Walt, man. Guy was a genius.”

Rick just rolled his eyes but he had to admit, the guy had some good ideas at times.

Across the way, they went to board Adventure Thru Inner Space. While in the line, they could see other riders in their Ominmovers go through the Monsanto Mighty Microscope and come out the other end shrunk down.

“Woah, what the-?” Cliff stared at the whole process trying to make sense of it all, trying to convince himself he wasn’t hallucinating.

“Wait… how?” asked Rick, also puzzled by what they were watching. The two just stood there dumbfounded until the people behind them kindly informed that the rest of the line had moved up. “That’s so w-wierd.”

They climbed into their Ominmover and were greeted with another audio narration, this time of a scientist who had previously made this journey. As they pass through the microscope, the ride gets dark and starts to shake until they emerge from the other side, apparently shrunken down like how they saw the other riders were and surrounded by giant snowflakes.

“Oh, no. No, I-I don’t like th-this.”

“It’s okay, man, this ain’t real.”

But they kept shrinking more and more until the snowflakes just became large ice crystals and all the way until they were surrounded by molecules.

“Oh fuck, it’s gotten worse. It’s turned into a-an educational ride.”

“Probably why it was free instead of costing a ticket.”

Rick buried his face on Cliff’s shoulder when they entered the atom and lights started flashing all around them to represent a frenzy of electrons until it became a large empty space with slow moving lights in the distance until a red pulsing light appeared. The narrator continued his high school lecture disguised as a dramatic monologue:

_”And there is the nucleus of the atom! Do I dare explore the vastness of ITS inner space? No, I dare not go on. I must return to the realm of the molecule, before I go on shrinking...forever!"_

“Oh thank FUCK!” Rick exclaims as quietly as he can while he rolls off Cliff.

“Aww, and I was just enjoying ourselves. I could have shrunk forever with you.”

Apparently the snowflakes had ‘melted’ as they started to return to normal size, and the random visual of the scientist’s eye was enough to weird Rick out.

“Okay. I h-hated that,” Rick grumbled as they exited the building.

“And what do you got against an edumacation, huh?” Cliff teased as he followed him to the closest smoking section.

Rick growled as he flicked his lighter several times in frustration until he got it lit. “I-I-I wasn’t the best student.”

“What, you were the class clown? Tough kid? Skipped school a lot?”

Rick wrinkled his nose then let out a sarcastic laugh. “Ya think that h-highly of me, huh? Or you always just p-p-pulling m-my chain?”

“What are you talking about, man?”

“You really think I’d be funny enough t-to be the class clown? O-or tough enough to be that guy? I feel like you just say that sh-shit to make me feel better, you don’t really think the world of m-me.”

Cliff felt like he got caught in the act of a crime he didn’t really commit. Has he often over exaggerated Rick’s accomplishments? Yeah. But was there some truth to them? Also yeah.

“I thought you were popular enough in school which is why you came out here. To be an actor and all, thought you’d have to grow up with people at least liking ya.”

“Me. Popular. With th-this s-s-stammer?”

“Hey, man. Didn’t know. Thought they could see past it to know the guy I know and love.”

Rick was trying to not get emotional as he puffed away on his cig, eyes already brimming with tears,

“Hey, Rick. It’s okay, alright? Sorry I brought it up, please don’t cry. Too public of a place, man.” Normally Cliff would go in for a big hug and try to soothe him but too many eyes watching meant too many avenues for gossip to spread.

“Wh-why am I like this, Cliff? Don’t t-try to be. Don’t w-wanna b-be. J-just am.” Rick sniffed as the tears started falling, still holding back from sobbing.

Cliff watched him for a bit while looking around to survey his surroundings. No one seemed to care that a washed-up actor was having a breakdown in the smoking section, and seeing as not many were able to recognize Rick on their own, what does it matter if he…

“Oh, fuck it,” Cliff mutters as he grabs Rick and pulls him in a tight hug, making sure he keeps Rick’s face hidden in his chest as he pats him nice and hard on his back. “There, there. Don’t move. I’ll tell you when it’s okay to come up.”

Rick didn’t struggle to pull away and finally broke down sobbing on him while Cliff kept watch. Anyone who looked their way was met with Cliff’s hard glare and a ‘What are you looking at?’, and despite him clearly embracing another man while wearing a Minnie hat, Cliff still looked more intimidating than the average man.

Once he could sense Rick was done, Cliff gave him the all clear to resurface and gave him a moment to dry his face. “Feel better, partner?”

“Will I ever?”

“That… that I can’t tell you.”

Cliff was at a loss on how to help him. Growing up, he always tended to answer anything threatening his friends and family with his fists. Later on, he learned to use them as a last resort but more often than not he’d find himself in situations where he’d claim the violence was valid. But with this? This was an invisible threat. He can’t see it, can’t fight it, can’t fix it, and he never knew when or how it would come for Rick. There have been a couple times he can recall where this monster almost finally claimed Rick, and Cliff still has nightmares about what if he didn’t happen to be there at the right time.

“It’s stupid, i-isn’t it? How the d-d-dumbest shit can set me off like this. I mean, fuck. Haven’t e-even thought about school in years and yet, here I am crying just because I-I wasn’t the best student.”

“Hey man, I wasn’t either if that makes you feel better.”

Rick just smiles sadly as he takes one last drag and tosses the cigarette away. “Yeah, well. You sure got a-a lot more going for you than I do. Come on, let’s go.”

Cliff would be inclined to disagree. After all, who was the one living in a trailer and basically financially dependent on the other? But that was an issue he always knew Rick had; he had the ability to completely ignore all the good he had in his life even if he felt he needed more. Not every little boy growing up and wanting to be the star of his own television show makes it.

They headed on over to the PeopleMover which, as the name suggests, just moved people around on a track for a grand tour of Tomorrowland. Rick just sat there looking completely lethargic and staring blankly off into space for most of it. Cliff tried to think of some way to cheer him up.

“You know someone died on this ride.”

It took several seconds for the information to reach his brain before Rick turned his head and narrowed his eyes. “Why in the world did you feel the n-need to share that fact?”

“Thought it would cheer you up.”

“How exactly?”

“Well. That’s gotta be a sad way to go, right? This might be the tamest ride here.”

Rick rubbed his face and shook his head. “You’re the weirdest friend I’ve ever had.”

Cliff was close to saying something like ‘I’m your only friend’ or ‘Didn’t think there was much competition in that department’ but he realized that would probably set Rick off again and it would be a lot harder to cover up on a ride than tucked away in the smoking section.

Above the PeopleMover loading platform were the Rocket Jets. It was another ride like Dumbo with the up-and-down lever but with that cozy Matterhorn style seating. Cliff slipped in back again with Rick squeezing in tightly in front.

“You gonna be alright piloting by yourself?”

“Shut up.”

“This is way higher than Dumbo is. Not gonna be scared of heights are you?”

“I-I’m not scared, why’d you think I’m scared?”

Cliff just grins into Rick’s neck as the ride starts and wraps his arms tightly around his waist like he did on Matterhorn. “Ya know. Gonna be much harder for people down below to see us up there if you want that kiss.”

“Not now.”

“Ah, turning the tables on me this time. I get it.”

“No, it’s because if you haven’t noticed, e-everyone wants to stay at the very top. N-no one is going down at all.”

“Well then, maybe we should.”

“Yeah, then they’ll see a-alright.”

Cliff can’t help the small growl of frustration deep in his throat; Rick had the upper hand at the moment and he could tell Rick figured that out as well. And that was fine; if it helped Rick’s mood then he’d let it slide. “Alright. Just remember you brought it up back in Fantasyland in the first place and I offered,” he says as he squeezes Rick a little tighter while he still had the opportunity to for the next couple minutes.

Finally they headed to the Carousel of Progress, the third of these free exhibit rides in Tomorrowland and another 1964 World’s Fair attraction. And just like with the last one of It’s a Small World, Rick came out of it in another foul mood and another trip back to the smoking section.

“The hell was that? More educational shit or just a fucking advertisement for General Electric?”

“Yeah, but this time it came with a catchy song.”

“I-it’s like the worse of Small World and Inner S-space combined.”

“ _It’s a great, big, beautiful tomorrow. Just a dream away…_ ”

“Don’t sing.”

“ _It’s a small wor-_ ”

“I swear I will throw your fucking ass off the goddamn PeopleMover and watch you slowly be the second person crushed to death by that ride for my own amusement.”

“Well. Now that’s rather harsh.”

Rick rubbed his temple trying to wipe most of the last hour away from his mind. This land might have been fucking worse than Fantasyland after all. “We done here?”

“Yeah. Let’s do a loop on the train and get off at New Orleans Square.”

“Place with that mansion across the river?”

“Yeah. The rest of the lands are all periods in the past. Guess you’re much more comfortable over there than in the future or storybook stuff, huh?”

“Right, right. Guess I-I’m just always living in the past, huh?”

“Well I’d say in this situation, there ain’t nothing wrong with that.”


	5. New Orleans Square

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact! This is my favorite land, and my favorite ride, the Haunted Mansion, opened August 9th, 1969. So since I’m setting this the year prior to the movie, they won’t be riding it. However, the actual building was built in 1963 when it was originally planned to open, hence why they see it.

The E.P. Ripley pulled out of the Tomorrowland station heading right into a tunnel featuring dioramas of the Grand Canyon and the Primeval World, complete with animatronic dinosaurs. Rick was starting to wonder what he hasn’t seen as an electronic puppet yet by this point.

The train pulls into the Main Street station which gave a nice overview over the entire street. Rick was reminded of the smells passing the stores on that streetcar ride that seemed so long ago now, and he realized he was starting to get hungry again. “Hey, Cliff? What are we doing for dinner?”

“Well, there’s some fancy place in New Orleans Square we can see if they have any availability.”

“You think I-I can pull the celebrity card to g-get in?”

“Worth a shot, I guess.”

New Orleans Square was the next stop but Cliff insisted on a full tour of the park. The train looped around the backside of the River of America and Cliff waved to the people on the Colombia that was passing by just like he did to the train earlier that morning. Then it went around Fantasyland behind It’s a Small World (Rick visibly flinched) back into Tomorrowland where they originally started from. Since they already did the diorama tunnel and it was dark enough, Rick rested his head on Cliff’s shoulder for a quick nap; he was already starting to feel the wear and tear from the day.

Once they finally got off at New Orleans Square, Cliff led the way through the mazes of shops of the, as Cliff noted, much cleaner version of the French Quarter. The Blue Bayou was tucked away next to the Pirates of the Carribean exit, and luckily they managed to score a reservation at 6pm for them without resorting to Rick bribing them, although that was too far off for Rick. Cliff settled for buying a couple churros to hold them over.

Before diving into the new land too much, they headed back towards the river to take that raft over to Tom Sawyer’s Island. Rick remembered loving _The Adventures of Tom Sawyer_ as a kid, and he even could recall some of the references from the book as the two of them walked along the adventure trail. They went through Injun Joe’s cave, over a suspension bridge (that Cliff purposely bounced on trying to knock Rick over), and all the way to the fort and and trading post at the very back of the island before making the journey back to the raft landing.

Once they returned to the mainland, they headed up the bank along the river towards the Indian Village. Of course you couldn’t have the whole cowboy theme without the Indians to go along with it in those days, and Rick did enjoy the ceremonial dances and watching a weaving demonstration. Then they hopped aboard the Indian War Canoes and to Rick’s surprise, soon learned wasn’t on a track and they had to actually row the damn thing around the entire river. He was too damn tired for this, but what energy he lacked, Cliff made up for in his vigorous paddling.

Finally they could officially close out Frontierland as they make their way back down towards New Orleans Square. Rick suddenly stopped in front of that mansion that just stood there, looking around for any indication of what this was all about.

“I wonder if they’ll ever finish this thing.”

“What? You know what it is?”

“Yeah, it’s like a haunted house ride or something. Saw a preview for it back on _Wonderful World of Color_ about…. three, four years ago? Bummer it’s not open, the house is cool looking. Otherwise Pirates of the Carribean is the only ride in this land at the moment.”

They make their way past the French Quarter streets again until they find the entrance to Pirates. Rick sees once they enter the building it is another damn ride in a boat, but at least this one already felt a lot more darker than the stuff he went through back in Fantasyland.

“That’s the restaurant we’re going to,” Cliff points out as they climb into their boat. The whole area the was dark so it felt like nighttime as the glow from the lights from the restaurant area spilled over and dotted with lights that were meant to look like fireflies.

“It’s… umm… m-maybe it’s too, uh…”

“Romantic looking?”

“Yeah. M-maybe we should cancel.”

“Oh come on, I highly doubt it’s just couples in there.”

“Cliff. Have you seen any other pairs of just men all day?”

“Well, no. But what does it matter if two guys want to go out to dinner together, we do all the time.”

“Yeah, but-”

“It’s dark, no one will be paying attention. Please, Rick. For me?”

“I’m already doing this wh-whole day for you!”

And that’s when Rick finally saw Cliff’s face completely break down. Despite all the complaining Rick did, Cliff still managed to keep some positivity about him. But now Cliff look genuinely hurt by Rick’s comment, as if Cliff finally realized that no matter what he did, Rick would never truly enjoy his day here.

“Alright. We can cancel.”

“Cliff, I-” But Rick was cut off as the boat suddenly lurched forward and was sent sailing off into the water. Rick didn’t like how dark it was and the creepy banjo music that was starting to fill the air. And he hated even more than Cliff just sat there unmoving as he started straight ahead and ignoring everything.

Rick wanted off this ride. He had no idea what was happening and there sure weren’t any fucking pirates around. Finally he could hear a voice in the distance that was soon revealed to be an ominously lit talking skull in a pirate hat right above what looked to be a tunnel entrance, warning riders to sit closer together as “Dead men tell no tales”. Rick instinctively without realizing it scooted closer to Cliff as the skull directed, and then with only a split second warning, Rick yelled along with most of the boat as it dropped down the waterfall. And Cliff, instinctively, of course, wrapped an arm around him to reassure the actor clinging to his side.

“I-I-I didn’t like th-that.”

“Well brace yourself, here we go again.”

“We what-?”

Rick didn’t scream any less on the second drop, and he actually got more water splashed on him this time to where one pant leg was completely soaked; Cliff couldn’t help but smirk. Rick braced himself against Cliff again thinking there would be a third drop, but it took a solid two minutes for him to finally relax and trust that that part of it was over.

Again, this was another animatronic filled ride but Rick guessed the Pirates concept was interesting. The whole first section had too many skeletons for his liking, especially ones drinking or lying in a bed surrounded by their riches. It almost felt like some horrible metaphor for Rick’s own mortality and desires that he didn’t want to think about. Finally the boat went out into a large open area with a pirate ship shooting cannons at the village they were soon entering. Then it was just a bunch of scenes of pirates getting up to different hijinks before ending with the village being on fire and past a scene of a dog holding the key the pirates need to escape their prison. Then the last part was the large hill climb that felt like an eternity that had to make up for the two drops at the start to get them back to where they began. Rick wasn’t exactly sure what to think of the whole thing but he did know it had the song he hated the least in it, so he wasn’t even going to bother to tell Cliff to shut up when he would inevitably start singing it when they got off the ride.

Except Cliff didn’t start singing. Instead he just made a sharp turn around the corner towards the Blue Bayou entrance.

“Wh-what are y-you doing?”

“Gonna cancel our dinner reservation like you wanted, right?”

“Look, I’m hungry. L-let’s just keep them.”

Cliff looked down at his watch. “Still got half an hour. Faster to probably just cancel and eat at one of these other places.”

“No, I-I-I want to keep it. Please?”

“Alright. We’ll keep it. But you can’t complain, I gave you the option to back out.”

“I-I won’t I swear.”

Cliff sighed hoping Rick was going to be true to his word. They spent the time looking through the different French Quarter stores and watching the caricature artists do their work. Cliff asked Rick if they should get one together but Rick exclaimed he had enough caricatures of himself from the height of his _Bounty Law_ days to last a lifetime. Cliff again looked disappointed but Rick didn’t seem to notice this time.

“How did all those people get up there?” Rick wondered as he looked up at the balconies above them where guests who looked a bit overdressed for a theme park gathered.

“Club 33.”

“Huh?”

“Club 33,” Cliff says again as he points towards the door near them with a 33 by it. “It requires membership and is usually for the wealthy corporate types. Not really our kind of people.”

Rick smirks sadly to himself. Rick Dalton. Always looking over at what others have that he just somehow can’t obtain.

“I heard it’s also the only place in the park that serves alcohol.”

“Of course it is…”

Their last stop before dinner was into the gift shop right by Pirates that had some pirate accessories. Cliff tossed Rick and eyepatch saying maybe more people would recognize him as Mike Lewis if he put that on before putting one on himself.

“You don’t look half bad in it, but I-I’d take off the mouse ears.”

Cliff looks around and exchanges the ears for a pirate's hat as well as pulling out a fake sword and points it at Rick. “‘Arrrr… could ye point me in the direction of the booty, eh there, laddy?” he said it a horrible pirate impersonation but Rick couldn’t help but smile at how ridiculous it all was.

“Come and get it, Captain.”

Well that was the last thing Cliff expected to hear. But then again, he never knew when Rick’s mood would flip 180 without warning, including going from the dumps to a high. Cliff grins and just puts the pirate gear away. “Maybe later,” he says with a wink.

Rick was still in his happier mood by the time they went to dinner that Cliff was wondering if window shopping was all Rick needed to clear him out of his funk. Not that he was complaining, but since he did all the shopping back home or sent Rick out on his own while he did other errands, it’s not something he’d be aware of if it’s the case. And with Rick’s constant yearning for what he can’t have, it seems like it would be an odd cure to boot.

Cliff had put in a request that they’d be seated as off to the side as possible which was luckily fulfilled. He even made sure Rick had his back on the rest of the dining area to give him more privacy in the already dimly lit area.

“Those bastards have no idea what they’re in for…” Rick muttered as he watched the Pirates’ boats glide silently in the dark past the banjo player’s eerie tune. “Was there a-a warning about those drops?”

“Not sure. Did say you’d get wet. Besides, of course the whole thing has to be underground, there’s not room up here for something that massive of a layout.”

“Well if I knew I wouldn’t have gone on.” Rick opens his menu and looks it over, wondering what the hell Soup Du Jour was.

“Would have made Small World far more interesting if they had drops.”

“M-make if a fucking horror r-ride. Not that it w-wasn’t already. Do you know what’s in Soup Du Jour?”

“What’s in it? It changes every day.” Cliff could tell Rick wasn’t getting it. “It means soup of the day, not an actual type of soup.”

“Then why don’t they just say ‘soup of the day’? I-I don’t fucking know French. Barely know any S-Spanish to get by in this damn town.”

“I knew enough to get by during the war…” Cliff looked and saw the only other listing under ‘Potage’ was New Orleans Clam Chowder. “How about we get both soups and you can have whichever one you prefer. And I think I’m leaning towards the Seafood Creole so get a beef so we can try each of them.”

“Who says I’m sharing? I told you, I’m starving.” But Cliff was right that Rick would be eyeing the ‘Boeuf’ section, settling on the sirloin. Also that fruit salad looked rather appetizing.

The waiter came and took their orders, leaving them both alone without any means of a distraction or topic of conversation. Usually most of the talking was done by Rick, and most of the talking tended to be complaining. And right now, Rick has runned out of things to complain about. He could bring up again that he thought this was too much of a romantic setting for two guys to be in, but seeing how well that went with Cliff last time, he decided against it. It suddenly dawned on him that he didn’t know how to have a normal conversation with Cliff that wasn’t all about himself and his woes.

“So. Uh. H-how are you?”

Cliff looked almost in shock that Rick was even asking such a question that most people usually ask of each other all the time. “I’m fine. Could be better, but it could be worse. You know, the whole wife killing hanging over me making it hard to find a job.”

“Oh, r-right. Stupid question then.” Rick rubbed the back of his head trying to think of anything else to say. “So wh-why here? Why’d you want to come here o-of all places?”

“Well. They call this ‘The Happiest Place on Earth’, right? Just wanted to see if it lived up to its name. But I guess it failed there, huh? You seem more miserable than usual.”

“I-if you warned me ahead of time so I could mentally prepare m-maybe I’d be b-better.”

“Ah. Well, guess I just wanted to surprise you, is all. Or figured you’d say ‘no’ if I asked.” Cliff was now the one awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck as he gazed back out on the bayou as another boat sailed past them.

Rick couldn’t deny that he would most likely have said ‘no’. He liked being set in his ways and this place felt too much of a drastic departure from his regular routine. Yeah, a routine of getting shitfaced and just floating in the pool. It was rather sad and pathetic the more he thought about it.

“I’m s-s-sorry.”

Cliff looked back over and raised an eyebrow. “Hmm? Not sure I heard you correctly.”

“I’m sorry. N-not j-just for today. But that I-I-I’ve been such a-... goddamn. I’ve been such a self-absorbed asshole a-all these years.”

“Go on.”

“Y-you do so much for me that I-I tend to take it for granted. And I know I’ve been difficult to d-deal with. And I’m fucking amazed h-how much you p-put up with me.”

“Keep going.”

“I j-just want you to know. That even if I don’t show it, I appreciate e-everything you do for me, Cliff. I mean it. All of it. Even… umm...the faggoty shit.”

“Look. First of all, you need to stop right there with the self-hate, alright? No one needs to know about what we do other than us. Hell, no one needs to know what anyone does in the bedroom, that’s the whole fucking problem. Yeah, it will be a problem for your career if people find out, I get it. But the only two who matter in the end are us, and I completely and fully accept you as you are. I just wish you could, too.”

Rick was thankful he didn’t have to reply as the soups came. The Soup Du Jour ended up being a french onion that he instantly loved and didn’t need to try the clam chowder before he claimed it as the one he wanted. Rick then proceeded to talk about the soup as much as he could, even though he was basically repeating the same couple things over and over, just so he could completely change the subject away from his lack of self-acceptance. Cliff just ate his soup in silence but couldn’t help but smirk at Rick’s attempt to ignore him; usually when he does this, Cliff knows that’s when Rick has actually been listening to him and hopefully taking his message to heart.

The same thing continued on with the entrees; Rick couldn’t get enough of his sirloin and the fruit and only broke away from the praise when Cliff tried stealing a pineapple with his fork (“Hey! I said I wasn’t sharing!”) and again when he was finished and wanted to see the dessert menu.

“You mind if we at least share dessert? I just want a little, not a lot.”

“Fine. I guess.”

They split a chocolate Barvarian cream pie, Rick making sure Cliff just took his small piece as he said he would, but Rick got full enough that he told Cliff could have the rest. Cliff eagerly ate it up.

The check came, and as Rick begrudgingly reaches for it, Cliff snatches it away.

“I got this.”

“Huh? Cliff? Y-you can’t afford this.”

“Been saving up for this day for the past few years. Just put a little aside from each allowance you’ve given me in a jar until I felt I had enough. Might have skipped a few meals or something now and then but nothing too drastic. I just wanted to do something special for you since you’re the only one who’s had my back all these years, that’s all. That’s why I was hoping to surprise you, because this wasn’t a last minute idea but a long time coming.” Cliff gives him a bittersweet smile as he pulls out his money to count what he needed. “I mean, if I had known the mermaids were ending last year, I would have come then but I didn’t have enough yet.”

Well if that reveal didn’t make Rick feel like absolute shit, nothing would. He had already apologized but now he wondered if he needed to do more of it. But Cliff’s mermaid comment did make him laugh at least. “Yeah, sorry I didn’t pay you enough then to get you here sooner.”

“Well why don’t you make it up to me and get yourself one of those mermaid tails. Then you can do something else in the pool besides drink and float.” Cliff ends it with another wink that made Rick wonder if he was being serious or just kidding.

And Rick hated the fact that he actually considered getting one for a split second.


	6. Adventureland

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Went into writing this chapter not expecting much, especially out of the treehouse, and that attraction ended up being one of my favorites to write so that was fun. But this land was pretty short lol

_You can do it, Rick. Just one more land. Just three more attractions. You can do it without a single complaint. Show Cliff you can do it._

“And what exactly has your mind all wrapped up, huh?”

Rick didn’t realize he stopped in the middle of the bridge over the Pirates queue, staring out over the entry to the alleyway that is Adventureland. He carefully tried to weave his way out of traffic going by him with Cliff following right behind.

“Sorry. Just mentally preparing.”

“Uh huh. Well our first thing is right here.” Cliff pointed up at the large treehouse they were standing under.

Rick’s eyes kept going up and up and still couldn’t tell how far up this thing went. All he knew was there was a very tall staircase with people coming down which meant they had to get up there somehow.

“You…. y-you can’t be serious.”

“Come on, let’s get going.”

“But I’m-“ _tired. You’re tired, Rick. Tell him you don’t want to climb that tall ass thing… NO! I’m not going to complain. He wants to do this so we’ll do it…_ “-I’m still full so I-I might be slow.”

Cliff grins at him and gestures Rick to go ahead. “I don’t mind. I’ll be right behind making sure you don’t get lost.”

“Ha ha,” Rick says as he rolls his eyes and starts the climb. Luckily he found it wasn’t super taxing of a climb, just a small flight of stairs going from each ‘room’ of the treehouse. He never saw _Swiss Family Robinson_ so none of this meant anything to him. Cliff hadn’t seen it either but he seemed overly fascinated with the whole thing. By the time they reached the top, they could see the last bit light in the sky as the summer night slowly crept in.

“I wouldn’t mind living in a treehouse like this, it would be like a palace to me.”

“You’re nuts.”

“Why? You wouldn’t want to live like this?”

Rick looked at him like he was indeed nuts. And in reality, Cliff knew Rick wouldn’t be able to handle it; the man needed his comforts and a drafty tree isn’t one of them. “M-maybe when I was a kid. Now, no.”

“Well, it sure beats the trailer, I’ll tell you that much.”

“Really, Cliff. You can a-always just stay with me. Don’t mind one bit. I-it does get lonely after you leave…” Rick quietly trailed off at the last bit and began picking at his thumbnail so he wouldn’t have to look at Cliff.

“Ah, you don’t need me hanging around. I guarantee you’ll be sick of me and want me gone after a week.”

“Wh-what about getting a guest house out back?”

“What, convert the shed? Or fill in your pool? You ain’t got room back there for me.”

“But I got plenty of room inside.”

“I know…” Now it was Cliff’s turn to start looking for a distraction as he looked out over the Jungle Cruise river. “Come on, let’s get going.”

“H-hold up a sec.” Rick looks over his shoulder to make sure no one is coming before he grabs Cliff’s wrist as he starts to walk away. “I just… I mean... n-n-nevermind. It’s s-stupid.”

Cliff looked him over trying to read him, then back out to the colors painting the sky and smiles. “No. It’s not. It’s the perfect setting.”

Rick still hesitated, enough so that a couple families had to squeeze by them before they were alone again up there. He just stood still, not sure how to initiate anything towards Cliff. “I-I can’t.”

“Man, you make me do everything for you, huh?” Cliff grins as he takes one last look over Rick’s shoulder to make sure the coast was clear then goes in for a short, soft kiss. “Feel better?”

“Mmmhmm. Best part of my day so far.”

“Guess I really could have just saved my money and done that at your place.”

“Nah, I-I had a, uh- alright day.”

“Damn, I got an ‘alright day’, definitely surpassed my expectations.”

“Oh, shut up, let’s just finish it,” Rick mutters as he starts the long descent down the staircase.

“You know, I think you’d probably make an attractive castaway if you ever did one of these types of movies. Ripped clothes, scruffy face, probably soaking wet a lot of the time...”

“Uh huh, wh-whatever you say.”

“Or a merman, that would work just as well.”

“In your dreams, because th-that’s the only place you’ll ever see that.”

It was already dark enough by the time they boarded the Jungle Cruise that they had to rely on the lights off the boat to see much. And there was a new twist to this combination of boat and animatronics attraction; instead of an annoying song getting stuck in his head, Rick got something far, far worse.

“Bengal Tigers can jump over 20 feet, but don’t worry, we’re 15 feet away. He’ll jump right over us.”

Cliff laughed. Rick groaned.

“In the water right there is our favorite gator, Ginger. Careful though, Ginger snaps. She’s one tough cookie.”

_Make it stop, goddamnit._

“And now, we’re approaching the beautiful Schweitzer Falls, named after that famous African explorer, Dr. Albert Falls.”

_Wait, what?_

“Don't worry kids! That zebra is just sleeping. Those lions are his friends! The lions are protecting the sleeping zebra.”

Cliff let out a really long, evil giggle that honestly made Rick quite concerned as he scooted away a little.

Finally Rick could see the dock up ahead right past the native holding some shrunken heads.

“Here’s Trader Sam. He’s our head salesman in the jungle. He’s got a pretty good deal for you guys today…two of his heads for just one of yours. Either way you slice it, you’ll always come out a head. That’s a killer deal.”

That last joke nearly did Cliff in from laughing. Rick honestly didn’t peg Cliff to be the kind of guy to find this dumb shit amusing. But then again, he did drag him here in the first place.

Finally, they got to their last attraction, the Enchanted Tiki Room. Rick had no idea what the hell this was as they waited in the Hawaiian inspired waiting area outside the building.

“We should go to Hawaii sometime,” Cliff says out of nowhere.

“Why? Just because the country had some b-bizarre fascination with that place this past decade?”

“No. Just think it would be fun.”

“Well you got the shirts for it.”

The doors opened and the crowd made their way in. All Rick could see in this room were birds and flowers hanging from the ceiling and tiki totems along the walls. He got really nervous about what he was in for as he found a bench against the back wall and in the corner for him to hide in.

“Man it’s dark here. Hope I don’t fall asleep,” Cliff says as he sits right up against Rick.

“Scoot.”

“Oh, fiiine.” Cliff gives him barely an inch but enough that he’s not squashed.

And then what began made Rick only wonder what level of hell he was on to deserve this. At least with all the other attractions he went on with an annoying song it was at least something that was moving. Hell, Carousel of Progress even rotated between scenes. But here he was trapped in a dark room where “all the birds sing words and the flowers croon” and there was no escape.

“Are you asleep??” Rick hisses at Cliff, who was just sitting there with his eyes closed. The smirk that appeared on Cliff’s lips let Rick know he was at least still conscious. Rick decided to take a page out of Cliff’s book and just take a nap. He couldn’t tune out the singing completely but he was at least starting to relax a bit.

Suddenly, he nearly jumped a mile out of his seat when the large tiki totem came alive right by him and started chanting. So much for his nap; even Cliff had a single eye peeked open watching the totem carefully.

The music started swelling to an almost frantic pace between the totem chanting and war drums. Rick could feel his anxiety level start to raise with each passing moment as his breathing started to quicken until he felt like he was on the verge of another breakdown. He felt something on his hand and looked down to see Cliff’s hand on his. Of course, Cliff was good at recognizing the signs of a panic attack; he always was. And even when the room finally reached the culmination and instantly went dark to make it look like there was a thunderstorm outside, Rick remained calm.

The animatronic birds finished their show and Cliff waited for the majority of the crowd to shuffle out before leading Rick out behind them. “Well, you did it. You completed the park. How do you feel?”

“Tired. Ready to go home.”

“Well we got fireworks in about an hour, alright? Then maybe some shopping.”

Rick just sighs and shakes his head. Just a couple more hours. He can do this.

“Whatever you say, boss. Wh-whatever you say.”


	7. Fireworks

Cliff had left Rick in the smoking section while he went to go grab himself another churro. Rick was always amazed at how much crap Cliff could eat and never show for it while Rick would have one bad day of eating his feelings and feel like he gained five pounds. But of course, Cliff actually had to keep in shape for his job, no matter how sparse the opportunities lately were. 

Rick was already on his third cigarette and starting to wonder if Cliff left him alone on purpose when he finally appeared with more than just a churro.

“What the fuck is that?”

“A balloon. Thought you’d like it.”

Rick looked up at the pink Mickey-shaped balloon Cliff was holding out to him. “You c-can’t be serious. You’d actually think…?”

“Nah, I didn’t. But I liked the idea of giving it to you.” Cliff shakes his fist insisting to Rick that he take it. 

“Fine.” Rick flicks his cig away and takes it from him. “But you honestly can’t believe I am gonna hold this all night.”

Cliff takes it back from him and ties a slip-knot and puts it around Rick’s wrist. He takes a bite of his churro and grins as he admires his work. “There. Now you don’t have to hold it,” he says with a full mouth. 

Rick moves his hand up and down as the balloon goes with it. This was going to be fucking annoying.

“Come on, let’s grab a viewing spot.” Cliff leads a disgruntled Rick to the front of the castle and finds an unoccupied bench to sit on while they wait. He offers the half eaten churro towards him. “Want some?”

“No, no. I-I’m still full. But I wouldn’t mind something later, the stuff on Main Street smelled good.”

“Can do. Which, by the way, we got one last “E” ticket left-“

“No, I-I’m done.”

“Let me finish. Thought we’d take the monorail back out to the hotel-“

“I can just make drinks at home.”

Cliff sighs realizing Rick wasn’t going to let him finish and starts fishing around in his pocket. “Fine. It was gonna be a surprise but since you can’t seem to quit interrupting...” He finally pulls out a small packet with a key inside and holds it up to him. “Got us a room. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to be up to driving back right after today’s events.”

“Huh? Wh-when did you do this?”

“My noticeably long bathroom trip? Was checking in.” 

“You sly dog,” Rick laughs as he shakes his head. “Yeah, sure. That’s fine. Two beds, right?

“Yeah. Figured you could slip in while I go move the car so no one sees us together.”

“Smart.”

“Right. Because it requires extra work for us. Like everything we have to do.” Cliff didn’t even attempt to hide the bitterness in his voice as he looked at all the other couples in the vicinity. “They don’t realize how lucky they are, do they? That something as simple as holding hands they probably take for granted on a daily basis.”

“I guess not.” And as Rick thought on it, he wondered if maybe deep down this was the reason why he constantly felt the need to complain all day. Or hell, any day. If he was allowed to do all those things without fear, there’d be less anxiety and paranoia hanging over him. And he’d probably be a fucking whole lot happier.

“I guess maybe one day when it’s no longer taboo we can come back here.”

“Oh good, so we’re n-never coming b-back.”

Cliff just laughs and shakes his head. “Nah, I clearly got more faith in humanity than you do.”

The lights around the surrounding area finally dimmed and Cliff motioned for Rick to stand up and helped to hold his balloon down. The fireworks were set to an audio track and even included an appearance of Tinkerbell flying by over the castle. It sure wasn’t anything like the typical fireworks Rick had seen, that’s for sure. 

The show ended with cheering and applause from the crowd before the mass exodus towards the entrance gates began. Cliff held Rick back a bit to give them time to clear out.

“You wanted some sweets, right?”

“Mmm, yeah. To go.”

They walked down the illuminated Main Street to the Candy Palace where you could see the candy makers hard at work in the window. Rick offered this time to buy the sweets as they stocked up on different kinds of fudge and specialty chocolates. Then they continued down to the corner shop, the Emporium, which was definitely the largest gift shop in the park.

“I’m gonna get a couple things if you’d rather wait outside for me since it is crowded,” Cliff told Rick, as he could see he was getting a little uptight in this environment. 

“Yeah, a-alright. I saw a bathroom right out there. I'm gonna use that so you could meet me there after.”

Rick gave Cliff his balloon and sweet bag to hold before heading off to take care of business. About fifteen minutes later, Cliff found him with his own rather large bag.

“What the hell did you buy?”

“Well you ruined the hotel surprise so now you gotta wait until we get there to open it. But I did get myself a magnet to commemorate the day.”

Cliff gave Rick his balloon and sweets back and they both realized between the walk back to Tomorrowland and the wait it would have been faster to just go to the car and drive over there since Cliff had to anyways. Rick decided to start picking at one of the fudges to occupy himself.

“You know you could have g-given me your present while we waited,” Rick said as they finally boarded the monorail.

“Nah. Hotel is better.”

The monorail pulled into the station and Cliff offered to drop Rick off at the bar if he wanted a quick drink. To Cliff’s surprise, Rick passed, saying he’d rather shower.

“Man, what happened to my Rick Dalton? He would never pass up some late night booze!” Cliff slipped him the key and told him he did pack them clothes so no worries. But he didn’t give Rick the souvenir bag, not trusting that he wouldn’t open it. 

Rick made his way to the Sierra tower up to the room and stepped inside. He let his balloon float to the corner by the window and dropped his sweets and coonskin hat on the table nearby. There were two Queen beds and he decides to just strip down and toss his clothes on the one nearest to him before making his way to the bathroom. 

Cliff still hadn’t returned once he got out and had to just make due with just a towel around his waist. He goes to his sweets bag and pulls out the piece of fudge he had been working on earlier and makes himself comfortable on the bed before taking a real bite out of it. Barely a minute later, he hears Cliff at the door.

“Yeh ‘ang on,” he says with a full mouth as he rolls off the bed, grabbing his towel securely with one hand while licking the fudge off his fingers on the other. Rick makes his way to the door and carefully opens it, making sure to stay as hidden behind the door as much as he can. 

Cliff comes in and sets the bag down as he slowly closes the door behind him, watching Rick with great intrigue.

Rick swallows the last bit of fudge and licks his teeth clean. “Wh-what, Cliff-CLIFF!” He suddenly found himself pushed up hard against the wall with almost all of Cliff’s weight pushed on top of him and lips pressed even harder on his. Rick felt his hands fall to the side and with it the towel. _Goddamnit!_

“Arrr, you promised me a booty, didn’t ye, laddy?” Cliff says after he pulls away.

“What a fucking mood killer, you a-and that goddamn pirate voice,” Rick grumbles out as he reaches down to pick up the towel, but not fast enough without Cliff quickly grabbing and squeezing his ass and dashing off just as quick before Rick could whip him with the towel. “Prick!”

“Only one I see is yours.”

Rick huffs and secures the towel around his waist. “Th-that’s the o-only booty allowance you’re g-g-getting tonight.”

“Worth it.”

“You can m-make it up with my surprise.”

“Well, I was gonna shower first but I know you’ll try to peek. Go on get dressed first.” Cliff opens the bag and tosses Rick his silk pjs and gets his own pj bottoms out as well. 

Rick finishes changing and hops back on the bed, sitting up with his legs crossed and closes his eyes. “Alright. Surprise me.” He feels a soft thud in his lap and opens his eyes to see a stuffed Dumbo. “This… this i-is it?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh. Um, Thanks?”

“You don’t like it. I know.”

“Just, I don’t know, I never got t-t-to see the movie. The ride w-wasn’t the worst we did today, if that makes you feel better.”

“Well it’s my favorite Disney movie. I told you earlier today, show Dumbo some respect.”

“R-really? The flying e-elephant is your favorite?”

“Do you remember when it came out?”

“Obviously not.”

“End of 1941. I took my cousins to see it one Saturday night. The next day we found out the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. I guess you could say that was my last day of innocence as I knew it.”

Rick felt his heart sank. Even though he was only eleven at the time, he still remembers where he was when he heard the news; everyone did. “I’m sorry.”

“Ah, don’t be. But I got him because in a lot of ways, he reminds me of you.”

“The fuck, I ain’t got ears that big!”

“But you’ve said you were made fun of for your stutter, right? You still got it but still managed to live with it and break into Hollywood. Although, you’re not famous for your stutter as an act like Dumbo is for flying with those ears.”

“Thank fuck.”

“And he had a mouse for a best friend who is his support system and biggest fan.”

“Comparing yourself to a mouse, huh?”

“They did get drunk and started seeing pink elephants.”

“Well, can’t ar-argue with that.” Rick looks down at the stuff toy and gives it a squeeze in his hands. “I guess he’s cute.”

“Well you two lads have fun, I’m going to shower.” Cliff leans forward and gives him a kiss on the forehead and heads off to the bathroom. Rick watches him go before suddenly feeling a wave off sleepiness wash over him coupled with realizing how sore his legs are. Deciding he was done for the night, he makes himself comfortable under the covers and stares directly and the hard plastic eyes of the elephant.

“Alright, alright. I had a fun day, I guess. Just d-don’t let him know, okay?”

“But Rick...” Rick said in a high pitch voice thinking that’s what Dumbo sounded like, “why don’t you want him to know?”

“Because then he’ll be a-a smugged asshole about it.”

“Or maybe you’re just still scared about your feelings.”

“Goddamnit, I d-didn’t ask for a therapy session.”

“And yet, you’re the one talking to a stuffed toy.”

Rick just sighed about how crazy this all was but pulls Dumbo close to his chest as he tries to stay awake long enough for Cliff to come out. He is barely keeping an eye open when he finally hears the bathroom door open and Cliff climbs into the other bed. “I-I had fun today, Cliff. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

_That’s it?_

“And, uh. Thanks for Dumbo.”

“He’s growing on you, huh?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Well, goodnight, Rick.” Cliff reaches over and turns off the lamp before rolling over so his back is facing Rick. Five minutes later, Rick was crawling into his bed right behind him.

“Man, it took you longer to cave than I expected.”

“Sh-shut up. I’m here, aren’t I?”

“Did you… is that Dumbo I feel?”

“M-maybe.” “Yes, it’s me, Dumbo!”

“... You think that’s what Dumbo sounds like?”

“Look, I said I haven’t seen it.”

“Dumbo doesn’t talk, man.”

“Well if he did he’d sound like this.”

“What, like he inhaled a gallon of helium?”

“I can always go back to my bed.”

“Nah, don’t do that. I like being little spoon for once. Unless you want to switch?”

“And leave my booty unguarded? I don’t think so, Captain.”

“Yarrr.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that was my personal, self-indulgent, put my random knowledge of Disneyland to use project. I thought I’d never get this done since I had to force myself to make the art first and get out of that drawing slump so the fact this only sat on the back burner for three months is an accomplishment in itself lol


End file.
